Fruit catcher

Abstract

A fruit catcher has a trolley with ground-engaging wheels to enable the catcher to be moved over the ground, and a pair of side-by-side catcher portions pivotally mounted on the trolley for lateral opening and closing movement to enable the trolley to be moved, when the catcher portions are in a laterally opened position, to position the catcher portions on opposite sides of a tree, whereby the catcher portions can subsequently be pivoted to a closed position in which the catcher portions surround the tree. Each catcher portion has a series of radial arms which are extendable and contractible and which carry a flexible catcher sheet portion. Each catcher portion also has an actuator connected to each radial arm thereof for extending and contracting the arms simultaneously and, when the arms are extended, the flexible sheet portions provide an annular catcher array surrounding the tree for catching fruit falling therefrom.

I claim: 
     
       1. A fruit catcher having: a trolley with ground-engaging wheels to enable the catcher to be moved over the ground,   a pair of side-by-side catcher portions pivotally mounted on the trolley for lateral opening and closing movement to enable the trolley to be moved, when the catcher portions are in a laterally opened position, to position the catcher portions on opposite sides of a tree, whereby the catcher portions can subsequently be pivoted to a closed position in which the catcher portions surround the tree,   each catcher portion having a series of radial arms which are extendable and contractible and which carry a flexible catcher sheet portion,   each catcher portion also having an actuator for simultaneously extending and contracting each radial arm thereof, and   the flexible sheet portions, when the arms are extended, providing an annular catcher array surrounding the tree for catching fruit falling therefrom.   
     
     
       2. A fruit catcher according to claim 1 wherein each catcher arm has a first arm portion fixedly secured to the catcher portion, and a second arm portion extendable and retractable relative to the first arm portion to extend and contract the arm, and a first flexible elongated pulling element having opposite ends connected to the second arm portion and passing around a rotatable spool secured in position on the first arm portion, and the actuator being operable to rotate each spool of a catcher portion to simultaneously extend or retract the second arm portions relative to the first arm portions of the arms thereof, the flexible catcher sheet portion being secured to both the first arm portions and the second arm portions of the arms of the catcher portion.   
     
     
       3. A fruit catcher according to claim 2 wherein each catcher arm also has a third arm portion extendable and contractible relative to the second arm portion, and a second flexible elongated pulling element having opposite ends connected to the first arm portion and passing around at least one guide on the second arm portion, said second flexible pulling element also being secured to the third arm portion, whereby extending and retracting movement of the second arm portion relative to the first arm portion also causes similar movement of the third arm portion relative to the second arm portion, the flexible catcher sheet portion also being secured to the third arm portion. 
     
     
       4. A fruit catcher according to claim 2 wherein the actuator includes a rotatable articulated linkage extending around each catcher portion and upon which each spool of the catcher portion is mounted for rotation therewith. 
     
     
       5. A fruit catcher according to claim 1 wherein the arms extend radially in an upwardly inclined direction whereby fruit falling on the flexible sheet portions carried thereby moves radially inwardly down the flexible sheet portions, the catcher also having apertures through which the fruit subsequently falls for subsequent collection.